Decade of the Child
(2001-2011)

The Presbyterian sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Table are God’s gifts to us and call us to respond on behalf of the most vulnerable. Learn more about the Decade of the Child.

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF

Most parents are aware that Halloween is the favorite holiday for many American children. Every October, children eagerly await the last night of the month when they can dress up and go trick-or-treating. But did you know that UNICEF and the PC(USA) have a special relationship? Back in 1950, the Reverend Clyde Allison, a Presbyterian pastor in Bridesburg, Pennsylvania, was searching for a way to transform the holiday into something more than just an evening for costumes and candy. He and his wife wanted the children to have an opportunity to make a difference for children in need.

So the Reverend and Mrs. Allison's children and others from their church covered milk cartons with orange paper, dressed up as children from other countries and collected change instead of candy, raising $17 that first year. The idea quickly caught on and was promoted actively after 1953 by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, which turned "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" into a household phrase.

By the mid-1960s, over 3 million children in 13,000 communities in the United States were collecting more than $2.25 million in their orange Halloween boxes. Since that Halloween in 1950, more than 140 million dollars has been raised to provide food, clean water, opportunities for education and access to health care for children all over the world.

To order materials for Trick-or-Treat and learn the wide variety of safe ways to participate in this Halloween fundraiser, call (800) FOR-KIDS or visit the UNICEF Web site.

Monitor the Presbyterian United Nations Office Web site for information on congregational activities around Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF.

If you have ideas to share on how your congregation has participated, send them to the Presbyterian United Nations Office or 777 U.N. Plaza, New York, NY 10017.

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